the lucky one
by wistfulwhispers
Summary: you wonder if you'll make it out alive.


**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Pokémon.

 **A/N:** I've played through ORAS so many times simply because I am in love with this ship! Thanks for your favorites and reviews. I really appreciate it. Without further ado, here's the first of many fics to come for these two!

* * *

 **the lucky one**

* * *

i.  
"You must be the new neighbor!"

She turns in the direction of the voice and finds a boy. He's probably around her age, with ash brown hair and soft blue eyes much like her own.

"Yes," she says.

"I'm Brendan. I live right next door."

"I'm May. It's nice to meet you."

He smiles warmly at her. "So, are you gonna challenge the League?"

Even though she just met this boy, she has an uncanny instinct that she can trust him. She nods. "That's the plan."

"Same here!" He looks down at his PokéNav, then startles at what she supposes is the time. "You don't have any Pokémon of your own, right? Come by the lab later."

"I'll see you then," she calls.

He throws a wave over his shoulder as he takes off down the dirt path that leads out of town. She watches him until he disappears. For the next two hours, she lazes on the smooth turf in front of her new house. She drifts in and out of consciousness, her mind blank for the first time in a while. Finally, she sits up when she hears the sounds of footsteps.

"We're back!" Brendan announces.

She pushes herself up, then follows the two to the lab. Once inside, they pass several researchers, all so caught up with their work that they didn't even notice the new face. Professor Birch leads them to his office in the back of the lab. Despite the fact that she only met Brendan earlier, her family has known Mr. Birch since she can remember.

"So, the time has come," he comments as he walks over to a machine on the far side of the room. He presses a button on the front of it. With an audible click, the dome lifts to reveal three Poké Balls. She feels herself tense with excitement. He motions for her to come closer. "Pick one."

Without hesitation, she reaches for the rightmost capsule. "I choose you!"

ii.  
She learns lessons, like how some people will do whatever it takes to get what they want. She meets a number of people, battles countless more. While she'll never admit to it, she only remembers the ones that make an impression. In the low light of Granite Cave, she meets someone who is without parallel.

"Steven Stone?" she asks tentatively.

"Yes?" he answers.

She is unconsciously drawn to him for reasons she can't explain. He carries himself in a manner that she appreciates. It isn't too often, at least nowadays, to encounter such a proper man. He strikes her as someone who has fourteen different words for blue. It occurs to her that while his three-piece suit makes him seem out of place in this murky cave, he also looks at home.

"I apologize. It must have been an inconvenience to track me down, which one of my father's aides could have done."

"You didn't inconvenience me in the slightest," she assures him. "I have business down here."

"Oh? I don't mean to pry, but I am curious."

She smiles a little. "I took care of it before I went to find you, actually. I came for the gym."

"So, you're a trainer," he remarks.

"I am."

He walks towards her while he pulls a slim disk out of his inner pocket. When he's close enough for her to notice how silver his eyes actually are, he hands it out to her. "Take this, then. For all your trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble at all," she says, though she accepts it politely.

"I didn't get your name."

"It's May."

The upper corner of his lip quirks up. "Goodbye for now, May. I have an intuition that our paths will cross again."

iii.  
Steven was correct. Through the course of her travels, she ran into him more often than not. She swept all eight gyms in a matter of mere months, thanks to her impressively powerful team. Despite the fact that she was regarded as a prodigy from a very early age, simply because she was a gym leader's daughter, she quickly proved her brilliance on her own merits. She would have a new badge to show him whenever they met next.

This time, they encounter one another under dire circumstances. On a thin islet outside of Sootopolis, they witness a clear day transform into a rainstorm. They wear identical expressions of concern as the torrential downpour only strengthens with each minute.

He calls out his Skarmory. She calls out her Salamence. They share a look before they mount their respective Pokémon, then take off for Sootopolis. The flight is over in a few minutes. The trainers return the Pokémon to their Poké Balls in a swift movement. From there, they sprint to the Cave of Origin.

Wallace is already there. Relief visibly washes over him upon their arrival. The leaders of Teams Aqua and Magma are also with him. Archie avoids her eyes as she nears. She is cold, but she isn't cruel. It's clear that he knows how severe his mistake was, so she doesn't make it worse.

Steven interrupts her internal contemplations. Her attention snaps to him, eyes wide with fear she doesn't try to hide. He informs her of the plan, which involves her, a special suit, and an impromptu venture into sacred ground.

She knows she's on her own when she walks into the final room. She knows, even before the communication within the suit turns into static. Maybe she was on her own from the start. With a deep breath, fully aware that this qualifies as a life or death situation, she comes face to face with the mythical beast of the seas.

Whether the entire ordeal lasts minutes or hours, she can't tell. She feels like she is in a dream when she stumbles out of the cave. Steven rushes to her side to support her, which is a gesture she would've made a sassy quip about had she not been immobilized by fatigue. She promises to fill them all in later, after she lies down for a while.

From that point on, she is known as the heroine of Hoenn.

iv.  
Neither of them hold back when she reaches the champion's room. She shouts out commands like a general at war. It all comes down to his Metagross and her Blaziken. There's a sentimental value to this, a metaphor of some sort. Beldum was his first partner. Torchic was her's. Now, they're here, in their Mega Evolution forms and down to their last stretch of health.

The echoes of their voices overlap as they opt for their Pokémon's signature moves to finish the battle. Blaziken's hidden Speed Boost enables him to strike first. He lands a direct Blaze Kick. Metagross falls to the floor, unable to continue.

He walks her to the Hall of Fame, a private smile on his lips as he watches her register her team into eternal honor. She looks older, more mature. He wonders when the naive girl he first met became the worldly woman in front of him. There's a lot he doesn't know about her, though he puts his faith into her anyway. She gathers her Poké Balls when the machine finishes, then turns to face him. In that moment, traces of who she used to be manifests. Her throat closes up. She's thankful that no words need to be said.

She learns that "heroine of Hoenn" and "champion of the Pokémon League" are both heavy titles to carry.

v.  
"Look! It's the champion!"

"Wow, she's so pretty!"

"She's lucky! I wish I was the champion!"

Cameras flash as she runs down the streets of Mossdeep. She picks up mentions of her name more than once while she passes the crowds of people. She has always been a runner. She runs all the way to Steven's house. Before the reporters can catch her, she snatches the spare key from underneath the door mat and lets herself in.

"Sorry to barge in—" she starts, but stops abruptly when she realizes he isn't here.

Suddenly, discomfort settles over her. Though Steven is a neat man, the house is in such an immaculate condition to the point where it looks like it hasn't been lived in for some time. Her frantic eyes pause when they spot a white envelope on his desk. She crosses the room in a couple easy strides to take a closer look. Next to the envelope is a Poké Ball, which raises her suspicions further.

She wonders if her heart is about to pop out of her chest as she slips a finger underneath the flap of the envelope and tears it open. She pulls out a piece of paper, folded perfectly. Her hands shake as she unfolds it. The moment she sees her name written in his beautiful script, she feels something break inside of her. He knew she would come here.

She is numb when she finishes the letter. It flutters to the floor, forgotten. She mechanically reaches for the Poké Ball, then pockets it. Vaguely, she remembers the horde of reporters outside. Despite the itch to run as far away from him as she can, she's smart enough to stay in his empty house for the night.

She falls into a restless sleep with the thought that she is truly alone.

vi.  
The door to her hotel room opens as Brendan walks in. He surveys the scene, takes note of the nearly empty vodka bottle on the bedside table. With an exhale, he makes his way to the foot of the bed.

"Really?"

She looks up at him, eyes narrowed with exhaustion. They've been here a couple of times before: she'll try to escape the pressure of who she is, she makes a bunch of poor decisions which include copious amounts of alcohol and men whose names she never learns, then he finds her in the aftermath. Her temporary lovers are no where to be seen by the time he arrives, but he knows. He is her best friend, after all.

She lets the covers fall away from her as she sits up. She whispers a silent prayer of thanks when she realizes that she still has on the black lace bra from last night. While Brendan has seen it all before, it saves her a bit of dignity.

"What?"

"You've been like this ever since he left," he points out, without malice. She flinches at his bluntness.

"So? It doesn't matter."

"Like hell it doesn't," he scoffs. "You're different. I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it," she retaliates.

"I have my own shit to worry about," he says in a low voice as he pushes himself off the edge of the bed. "So, take care of yourself, or don't. This is the last time I'll bother."

He doesn't look at her as he leaves. When the door clicks into place, she reaches for a pillow and screams into it until her throat becomes raw. She starts to cry at one point. Her mascara smudges further, not that she cares. She cries for who she was, for who she became. She cries until she can't cry anymore.

vii.  
The conference in Ever Grande ends after a few hours. It's on the shorter side, in comparison to some of the others. She steps out into the warm sunshine, at ease for the first time in months. There's a plateau by the edge of the city where she can see the ocean. That's where she heads.

It's been four years since she last saw him. People still tell the legend of how he disappeared. She doesn't blame him anymore. It took some time, but she understands it now.

While she takes in the afternoon sun across the ocean, she thinks of him. She finds solace in the belief that they look up at the same sky, wherever he is. Even if she isn't okay, she is at peace.

viii.  
"You're still here?"

The corners of her eyes crinkle as she softens at Brendan's poor attempt to be tough. His back is to her, and he refuses to face her. He took over his father's lab, now with a name for himself as a Pokémon researcher. She made the decision to retire from the League. Now, they were both in Littleroot one more time.

"I promise I'll visit."

"Whatever."

She surprises him with an affectionate embrace. "Don't be like that."

He finally turns to face her, and reciprocates. His arms are familiar. She closes her eyes, lets herself be completely in this moment. He mumbles into her shoulder, "Call me as often as you can. Visit at least once a month. Don't get all dark and twisty, because I'll be farther away this time."

She laughs. "I promise."

"Promise me you'll be okay."

"I promise."

ix.  
Her eyes still heavy with sleep, she wakes slowly to the sound of rain. Her room is on the colder side, but her comforter is so warm. She takes a minute to appreciate the pure bliss of the atmosphere. When the minute is up, she rises leisurely.

There's a coffee shop where she likes to spend her rainy days. It's a short drive from her new apartment, closer to the heart of the city. She checks her purse for her keys, her wallet, her Poké Balls, then heads out. The only Pokémon she brought with her is her original team of six. Her others are with Brendan, back in Littleroot. She smiles at the distant memory of her days when she challenged the League, when she won. She isn't bitter anymore.

She orders a cappuccino, then takes a seat on one of the barstools that face the window. From there, she can watch the rain. Her drink arrives promptly. She is only in her early thirties, but she deems it old enough to pensively reflect on her life so far. But her reverie is broken when she feels someone settle in the seat one down from hers. She casually turns to look at her company, only to nearly drop the cup.

"Hi," he murmurs.

She stares like she has seen a ghost. In a way, she has. When she recovers from her shock, she blinks twice. He's still there when she opens her eyes.

"Hi," she finally answers, voice barely above a whisper.

Their pause is filled with a white noise combination of distant acoustic tunes and strangers' conversations, which gives her time to study his appearance. They've always had a couple of years between them, but he hasn't changed too much. His hair and eyes are as silver as she remembers them to be. The only difference to remind her of his mortality is the faintest hint of crow's feet.

"I probably lost the right to ask you this many years ago," he starts with a rueful smile. "But how's your life?"

She offers a small smile of her own as she turns back to the soft shower outside the window. She knows what he really means. "It's okay. I'm okay. Thanks."

"Do you live here now?" he asks, his eyes still on her.

"I do."

"What a coincidence. I do, too."

When she hears this, she wonders if he has been here all this time. She wonders if it holds any relevance that they chose the same place to become nobodies in. She wonders if coincidences exist, or if it was fate. She voices the latter to him.

"Do you believe in destiny?" he counters.

"I want to say no," she drawls. "But I sort of like the idea that we end up where we're supposed to."

"There's your answer."

She bursts into a fit of laughter at the punchline-that-wasn't-a-punchline. Then again, maybe the humor lies in the fact that he is here with her. She isn't sure, but she laughs. He cracks a smile, amused, as she clutches her stomach after a few minutes. She thinks he knows. She's sure he does.

They talk for hours, like they used to, about the universe and literature and how it feels to be on the cusp of a midlife crisis. Somewhere in between their discussion, he links his pinky finger with hers. Neither of them speak of the silent promise he makes her in that moment. She hasn't forgiven him exactly, but they laugh about how small the current storm is.

They leave the coffee shop once the rain lets up. When he leans down to kiss her, she lets him. Because while they can't start over, they can move forward.

x.  
Their daughter is born in the summer. She has her mother's hair, and her father's eyes. May and Steven make the decision to return home when she's of age to start her own adventure. When the news reaches Hoenn, everyone whispers how she'll undoubtedly be a talented trainer like her parents.

Brendan, married and with a son of his own, meets his goddaughter over a video call. She doesn't miss the way his eyes flit to her throughout the call. When Steven excuses himself to put the baby to sleep, Brendan waits until the door shuts. Then he asks, "You're okay?"

"I'm okay," she says with the tenderest smile on her face.

"Come home soon. I want to meet her in person."

"I will. Good night, Brendan."

"Good night, May."

She ends the call with the smile still in place. There's a peaceful silence in the office. She doesn't notice it when Steven comes back in until he wraps his arms around her. She instinctively leans into his touch.

She is okay.


End file.
